How Memories Might Be Used to Help Heal the Brain
In a new book, Steve Ramirez explores the potential of memory manipulation to ease depression and other afflictions.
A student in 2011, Steve Ramirez and his mentor performed a groundbreaking experiment in the field of memory manipulation.
They placed a mouse in a small distinctive box and administered a mild electrical shock to its feet. When the rodent was placed in the box a second time, it froze up — anticipating another shock.
From there, the young neuroscientists placed the mouse in a different box, one where nothing bad had happened. They then directed pulses of light to a very specific region in the mouse’s brain that had been genetically modified to respond to the light.
This caused the mouse to immediately freeze. Ramirez and his mentor, it turned out, had found a way to artificially activate a fear-inducing memory.
Author summary: Exploring memory manipulation to heal the brain.